The looming casino closures in Atlantic City, including the announcement Tuesday that the ill-fated Revel Casino Hotel would shut down just two years after it opened, could set off a chain of promotions from surviving casinos hoping to win over customers, but the industry still needs to smartly play the hand it's been dealt, an analyst said.

Namely, it needs to convince visitors from neighboring states to pass up the same slot machines and table games closer to home, drive an extra hour or two and stay in the seaside resort.

"It's hard to compete," said Sal Scheri, president and chief executive officer of WhiteSand Gaming, an Atlantic City consulting firm. "Now, because you've got so much competition, truly only something that is best in the market does well."

The industry was left to consider its next step after Revel officials said they couldn't find a viable buyer in bankruptcy court and planned to close by Sept. 10.

The announcement marked the fourth Atlantic City casino that is on course to close this year. They are victims of competition that has emerged during the past decade from newly built casinos in Pennsylvania and other East Coast states that once were reliable sources of gamblers.

Revel, however, takes on added significance. The $2.4 billion project opened in April 2012, making it the first new casino to open in Atlantic City since Borgata in 2003. The Christie administration offered more than $260 million in tax breaks to finish the project. And it opened with a splash; a Beyonce concert drew a star-studded audience that included First Lady Michelle Obama.

With the closing, the region braced for the layoff of 3,100 employees and the harsh truth that other casinos don't want the glimmering seaside property – even at a steep discount.

"This might be Revel's last chapter, but not the last one for this building," Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian said in a statement. "My administration remains committed to the workers, the businesses, and the visitors who are impacted by (the) news."

Revel joins a growing list. The Atlantic Club closed in January; Showboat plans to close at the end of the summer; and Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino plans to close in mid-September.

Free slot play?

Scheri said he expected the remaining eight casinos to offer promotions such free slot play to try to woo displaced customers.

Ultimately, though, they will need to set themselves apart from casinos in Pennsylvania and New York by trumpeting restaurants, entertainment, and, perhaps most importantly, the beach. It's a strategy Revel tried. But it didn't work.

Revel billed itself not as a casino, but as a resort that included a casino. Its design was breathtaking, but some found it uninviting. Its customer service faltered, given that employees lacked job security, Scheri said.

The lesson? You might be able to sell yourself as a resort during the peak season of May to September. "But on a Tuesday night in February, you darn well better be a casino – and market yourself that way," Scheri said.

Revel filed for bankruptcy less than a year after it opened. And, although it emerged with less debt, it filed for bankruptcy again in June. Operators hoped to sell it to another casino operator at an auction this month. But the company Tuesday said "challenges have arisen in our attempts to sell Revel as a going concern."

'Orderly wind down'

"While we continue to hope for a sale of Revel, in some form, through the pending bankruptcy process, Revel cannot avoid an orderly wind down of the business at this time," the company said in a statement. It said it would honor reservations and deposits while it remains open.

The impending closure adds to what has been an economic nightmare. Even with the casinos open, the unemployment rate for the Atlantic City metropolitan area was 9.5 percent, ranking it 360 out of 372 nationwide, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

The four casinos slated to close this year are expected to cost the region more than 9,500 jobs and $259 million in spending power, according to a recent report by researchers at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

Bob McDevitt, president of UNITE Here Local 54, the casino workers' union, said he could not comment on Revel's closing announcement "unitl we look into it further." In June, employees at Revel voted to join the union by an 80- to 20-percent margin. When Revel opened in 2012, it was the only nonunion casino in the city.

Local 54 has been a staunch opponent of the tax breaks the state granted in order to finish the Revel project. The state's Economic Development Authority had projected that Revel would eventually produce $650 million in additional state and local revenues and create 5,500 jobs. The tax incentives have never kicked in because Revel never turned a profit.

Big impact on NJ

Analysts have said the casino industry – outside of Las Vegas – is saturated, and Atlantic City is bearing the brunt.

Atlantic City officials responded by promoting other attractions – the beach, nightclubs, shopping – to lure visitors who might not have gambling on their mind. And there are signs it has worked. The city's beach was packed this summer for concerts by country stars Blake Shelton and Lady Antebellum.

But the hole left by the faltering casino industry is deep. Consider: Atlantic City has seen non-gaming revenues – such as income from bars, eateries and spas – rise by more than $160 million in the past two years to nearly $1 billion. But gaming revenue has declined by more than $2 billion since 2010.

Revel's announcement Tuesday, however, showed the city has few other options.

"It really is signaling, even at very low prices, casino operators are finding it difficult to operate in the Atlantic City casino market and turn a profit," Vito Galluccio, an analyst at Moody's in New York, said.

Michael L. Diamond; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@app.com

REVEL BY THE NUMBERS

3,100: Revel employees who face layoffs when the company closes.

$261.4 million: State tax credits Revel stood to gain if it had turned a profit.